Barton, AL – A north Alabama plant that was to produce as many as 10,000 railcars a year and hire some 1,500 workers has been derailed by the recession.
The National Alabama Corp. project, announced in July 2007, was to be in production this summer. But it now has only 120 workers on site in Colbert County and is waiting for its first contract.
Officials with the company, which received financing by the Retirement Systems of Alabama and nearly $17 million in government investments, say the plant is poised to take off when the economy recovers. CEO John Stein says the downturn has allowed the company to take steps to achieve top quality and secure its long-term future.
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